Tesla Autopilot traffic light, stop sign recognition update rolls out

Tesla owners with the most recent Hardware 3 package and a fully optioned Autopilot system have a new feature to try out. The electric carmaker this weekend began pushing a new Autopilot update with Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control after the feature rolled out to a small group of owners earlier this year.

It’s a function Tesla’s promised for a while now for those who paid $7,000 for the “Full Self-Driving Capability” package when ordering their car. With the feature, properly equipped Tesla cars will recognize and respond to traffic lights and stop signs. We saw one user trialing the system earlier this year, and it seemed to work without any major issue. Those with the feature will see new graphics to indicate the car recognizes a signal or stop sign and provides a red bar to show drivers where it will bring the car to a stop.

Tesla cautioned in the release notes, as quoted by Teslascope, that this feature will be “conservative” to start and “slow down often at first.” It will not attempt to turn through any intersections. As with all Autopilot functions, Tesla stressed drivers must be ready to retake control at all times and explicitly warns in the notes that the feature, still in beta testing, “may not stop for all traffic controls.” The company also said the car should detect all kinds of traffic signals, however, including flashing signals.